This is the second novel from A.J. Finn, author of the bestselling novel “Woman In The Window” which had a successful film adaptation. Twenty years ago, the wife and son of bestselling mystery writer Sebastian Trapp went missing. Many believed Trapp murdered them, but their bodies were never found, nor was there evidence of foul play. Sebastian, who has become a recluse and has only months left to live, invites his longtime correspondent Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction, to his spectacular San Francisco mansion to write a memory book of his life. Upon arrival, Nikki meets Diana, Sebastian’s beautiful second wife, his goofy nephew, Freddy, and his opinionated daughter, Madeleine. As Nicky attempts to piece together the memories of Sebastian’s life, she becomes obsessed with discovering the truth behind his first wife’s disappearance. At the same time, Madeleine begins receiving disturbing text messages, making her question what her father might really know about that long-ago night. When another corpse surfaces in the family’s koi pond, both women become certain that everyone is keeping secrets, and they must unravel the mysteries of the past before it’s too late.
This book is a slow-burn, suspenseful mystery. It should be noted that the writing style in this book is a far departure from that of Finn’s acclaimed novel, “The Woman in the Window.” The story has an enticing setup. The audience is introduced to the sprawling San Francisco mansion of world-famous mystery writer Sebastian Trapp, who’s now a dying, elderly recluse. His first wife, Hope, and teenage son, Cole, disappeared off the face of the earth 20 years ago, and now he’s invited Nicky Hunter, a young chronicler of detective fiction, to help write his memoir. From this point on, the story has an abundance of possibilities and intrigue. Unfortunately, that’s where most of it ends. What follows is a long, drawn-out narrative with several flaws. Firstly, the prose of the novel is quite choppy, and the dialogue is very stilted and repetitive throughout the novel. By the second half of the novel, the plot becomes so repetitive and convoluted that it becomes difficult for the audience to remain engaged or have any investment in the characters’ outcomes. The story does culminate with some very clever, unexpected twists, but even they lose their spark after such a tedious storyline.
Narrator Helen Laser does an admirable job with this one, bringing some much-needed life into the characters and story. But with such a flat storyline and poor character transitions in the story, no amount of drama or emotion can make this one very entertaining. The consensus for this novel has been fairly consistent—a slow-moving, repetitive storyline with a good twist that makes it a decent option. Unfortunately, “decent” in our current book world, where compelling thrillers are frequently being released, just isn’t good enough to warrant any recommendation.